A pair of local bowling alleys have signed onto a small coalition of diners, coffee shops and other small businesses arguing that before a casino opens up in New York, it should need to get local approval as well as from Albany lawmakers. According to New Yorkers for Local Approval of Casinos, “New York appears to be on the road towards approving non-Indian casino gaming, with a statewide referendum vote and legislation on the matter proceeding.” But before a casino just goes up in a community, there also should be a vote at the county or local level giving a yay or nay on the idea. So argues the coalition that includes Brockport Bowl and Henrietta’s Bowl-A-Roll Lanes, as well as a slew of joints mostly downstate. Casinos long have been a contentious political issue in New York state, with compelling arguments on both the economic development/tourism/pro casino side and the social cost/anti casino side. At the same time, one doesn’t have to drive all that far from Rochester to find some roulette action in Niagara Falls or Verona. But given the growing proliferation of casinos just outside New York – look at Erie, Pa., Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Horseshoe Casino in Cleveland – the push to get more going in New York could grow.

Attention people hoping to make extra cash or a living off online poker: Kenny Rogers was right – sometimes you have to know when to walk away, know when to run.

According to a new Cornell University study, the more hands won by online poker player, the less money they actually win.

The study looked at 27 million online poker hands and concluded that multiple wins typically are for small stakes, while meanwhile the longer a person plays the more likely that person will end up losing big amounts on occasion. The study was on the online version of the last month and will be in a forthcoming print edition.

According to Cornell, the results line up with previous behavioral economics findings that people will feel reinforced by a streak of wins but have difficulty in keeping accurate tabs of how occasional large losses offset those wins.

Diana Louise Carter was born at Rochester General Hospital the same year it opened and reared in Bristol, Ontario County. After college and grad school, her first reporting job was on a small newspaper in Western Massachusetts. She returned to Rochester in late 1987 to work for the Democrat and Chronicle. Carter covers agriculture and banking. She lives in the Upper Monroe neighborhood of Rochester with her husband and three children.

Matthew Daneman is a business reporter with the Democrat and Chronicle, covering imaging, optics, printing, telecommunications, manufacturing and a host of other topics. He lives in Rochester with his wife, Sheila. If he could have authentic western N.Y. chicken wings morning, noon and night, he would.

Tom Tobin has 30 years experience with Gannett newspapers as an editor and reporter. He lives in Rochester and has two children: Lia, 16, and Melissa, 11.